The Cracks in Perfection

The New Employee in Frozen

Chapter 7:

Seth

“I can’t believe you just left the school!”

“I didn’t feel like sitting in a stupid lecture hall that I never pay attention to anyways!”

“Liz! You can’t just leave school!” My mom and Liz were in a fight. Again.

Those seemed to be happening a lot more often lately. It made my family seem a little more normal. Music from my parents’ high school years was playing lightly in the background, as per usual. I turned on the burner of the stove to start boiling water for pasta as my dad walked in the door and set his papers on the coffee table before coming into the kitchen.

“Coldplay?” He asked. I nodded and he smiled and began to hum along.

Just then Liz slammed a door upstairs and my mom came downstairs simmering.

“What happened?” Of course my dad wouldn’t have known what happened, he left his phone at home that morning by accident.

“Liz left school in the middle of the day today,” my mom said, her tone dangerous. My dad’s face slipped into shock.

“Mom had me drive all over creation to find her because she had a student in her office and you left your phone here,” I mentioned.

“Oh my god. She just left? How did she even get away with that? Every time I used to try, the security would catch me in a good minute.” I laughed at my dad and my mom slapped him on the arm.

“Really? That’s not the correct reaction to this problem.”

“Sorry, I just don’t get it.”

“Dad, you used to try to leave school?” I asked jokingly and mom shot me a glare.

“Seth, do not start.” I laughed and turned to the pantry to get out a box of pasta. My dad was laughing too and my mom slid into one of the chairs at the kitchen table, putting her face in her hands and sighing. Then she started laughing a little.

“How? I just…” she laughed again, “how does our daughter seem worse than you?” She looked up at my dad and he shrugged, sitting down next to her and rubbing her back. I shook my head and poured some leftover sauce in a pot and put the burner on low. Yes, I can make pasta and meatballs. I ran upstairs and knocked on the door to Liz’s room.

“Dad I don’t need a lecture from you too.” The attitude in her voice was palpable. I rolled my eyes, teenage girls. I opened the door and when she saw who it was, she threw a pillow at me. I simply caught it and tossed it on the floor by her bed.

“Did you really leave by yourself?” I asked skeptically. She looked at me as if I had caught her in the act of shoplifting.

“How did you know?”

“What do you mean?”